


More Than a Fairytale

by LovelyJasmari



Series: Maidens of Scala [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Angst, Gen, Keyblade War (Kingdom Hearts), Sad with a Hopeful Ending, Scala ad Caelum (Kingdom Hearts), Storytelling, ties in with some of my future and current fics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 12:28:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20907671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovelyJasmari/pseuds/LovelyJasmari
Summary: This is a story, about a story. Undertaken by the parent and passed down to the child, continuing from generation to generation without an end, because the story itself does not yet have an end.





	More Than a Fairytale

**Author's Note:**

> Ava is going to appear soon in my main story (technically she already has in the most recent chapter if you squint) and while working on what her role will be, the idea for this story came into my head. 
> 
> I should note that her place in my main story is based upon this wonderful theory video, that Ava is the "traitor" the Lost Page speaks of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAxKMsHqd7E&t=733s
> 
> I think I also already mentioned before but within my headcanon, Ava is an ancestor of Kairi. I do think they will probably have some sort of connection in the actual canon, but until we know what that is, I came up with this idea. The idea of Ava having descendants and passing on the story of the keyblade war to them, generation after generation until the story is told to the young Kairi by her grandmother.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

Nozomi stood beside her mother, her little hand enfolded in hers as they stood together, looking out at the sea. This was the time of day she liked best, when school was over, and she and her mother would walk home together. 

They always made a point of spending a few minutes in the little park that overlooked the harbor. Something about the shimmering blue waters and the white gulls that circled the sky always held attraction for the little girl. But today, however, there was more on her young mind besides the seemingly endless water and the high cable cars that connected one island to another. Her large green eyes looked away from the harbor and pointed to the high tower, located at the highest point in the center of town. 

“That place,” she said. “That’s where the Keyblade Masters live.”

Her mother suppressed a small gasp, but deep down she knew that this moment would one day come. She could not think to raise her child in this sanctuary for keyblade wielders and not have her become eventually curious about the coveted weapons. Slowly she knelt beside her, taking both of her hands into her own. 

“Some of the bigger kids at my school are going there soon.” Nozomi went on. “They’re gonna be Keyblade Masters. They’re gonna live there and meet the king and queen! I wanna go too!”

“Sweetheart…” she held her little hands tighter, trying to think of how best to say what was on her mind. “You can’t go with them, because they’re going to train to wield keyblades.”

“Can I learn to wield a keyblade, Mama?” Nozomi jumped up and down a little, giving her mother a giant smile that she hoped was of a persuasive nature. “When I’m big enough, pleeeeaaassee?”

She smiled despite her worry. Nozomi was a child of seven and saw the world far differently than she did. It was her dearest hope that the little girl would never witness the horrors she had known, and that her young heart would remain as it was now. Innocent, honest and true, and untainted by Darkness. 

And in her mind, that meant that Nozomi could never be allowed to have a keyblade. She was still trying to think of how to say this in a way that would not be too disappointing to her child when she heard footsteps coming towards them. At first, it did not phase her, it was a beautiful day, and no doubt, they were not the only ones who wanted to enjoy the warm sunshine and cool ocean breeze. 

“It’s been a while. Hasn’t it, Ava?”

That name! A name that she had not heard in nearly a thousand years. So long it had been, that the five were referred to only as “The Lost Masters”. It was a name that no one living should know, a name known not even by her husband. Terror struck her heart still and her grip on the little girl’s hands tightened as the stranger approached them.

His face was different, his voice was different. Even so, Ava could not mistake that sly, almost callous sense of casual familiarity he had with her in their last meeting. And she could never forget that black coat. On impulse she almost drew her keyblade, until she recalled her child beside her, pressed against her skirt. 

Nozomi watched the stranger curiously, too curious to be aware of the fear in her mother’s face. Or the very real danger she was now in. Luxu glanced down at the child. 

“Well well, who is this?” he asked, looking right at the child though he was obviously asking her mother. The little girl smiled. 

“I’m Nozomi!” she said. “I’ve never seen you before. Do you know my Mama?”

“I do, little one.” his eyes locked with Ava’s. “We go way back, don’t we, Mama?”

“What do you want?!” 

“Mama?”

Her grip on Nozomi’s hand was now such to be almost painful, but that was not as alarming as the tone in her mother’s voice. She had never heard her speak in such a way, even when she scolded her.. Now when she glanced up at the stranger, she became afraid. Ava could see this and quickly softened her tone and smiled down at her.

“Nozomi, please sit here on this bench while Luxu and I speak in private.” she said. “We won’t be long. Stay put, okay?” Nozomi blinked a few times, but Ava continued to smile. “Obey your mother.”

She jumped up on the bench overlooking the harbor, kicking her little legs back and forth as Ava and Luxu disappeared behind a tree nearby. For a while, it seemed like her fear was unfounded. Until she heard the angry voice of her mother raising in volume to the point that she could not help but listen, though she was sure she would be later scolded for it. 

“What business could you possibly have with me now?!” shouted Ava. “The war played out, just as The Master wanted it. The world was broken and built up again, and you watched it all happen. Hasn’t your role been fulfilled?”

“Oh no, Ava. Far from it. The Keyblade War, was only the beginning.” He said something else to her that the child could not understand that seemed to make her mother even angrier. “Oh come now, would you really strike me down? When I no longer have a keyblade to defend myself?”

Now the child’s interest was piqued. Quickly and quietly, she jumped from the bench and walked over to where Ava and Luxu were still talking. She had to press her hands to her lips to keep from screaming at what she saw.

Her mother had a keyblade, and was now pointing it at Luxu! 

“It doesn’t matter either way.” he continued. “Fate has already been decided. One day, some poor soul obsessed with darkness will come forth to repeat history. I will be reunited with my blade and that’s when my true work will begin. That’s when he will return.”

“SHUT UP!”

“MAMA!”

Ava charged at Luxu but was stopped short by Nozomi’s terrified cries. Without turning around she could understand that the child had seen what had happened. And after she had done so much to keep her secret from her.

_ My sweet Nozomi, why didn’t you listen to me? _

The child rushed to her mother’s arms and she obliged her, too overwhelmed to be angry at her child’s disobedience. So overwhelmed were they both that neither noticed when Luxu vanished, when Ava finally realized that he was gone, that’s when her tears began. Just when she thought that her own work was finally complete, just when she thought that she may finally be able to live out her life in peace.

But there would be no peace. There couldn’t be. Ava knew that this was not over.

~~~

Much later that night, when her husband and child were sound asleep, Ava was up, sitting outside their house and looking up at the moon. In her old life, she had taken things like the sun and the moon for granted. She always felt that no matter what happened, those two things would forever remain the same. But soon she would be returning to a place where there was no sun, where the moon was unlike it was tonight. A place where the moon would serve as an endless reminder of her solitude and her failure. 

How much longer she would have to lay in wait in that place was not known. She only knew that the next time she returned to this realm, Nozomi would be long gone, it was like a curse, how time worked in the Realm of Darkness. 

But before Ava went off to never see her child again, there was one last thing she could share with her. Something she hoped Nozomi would never forget despite her young age. Something she hoped with all her heart that she would share with her own child and that their children would share with their own. Ages upon ages, until the day Luxu spoke of came. 

Crying.

It did not much surprise Ava to find Nozomi awake and next to her. She did not mind though, it was actually a good thing. 

“Why are you crying, Mama?” the child asked. 

“I could ask the same of you, Sweetheart,” replied Ava, trying her best to laugh despite her sorrow. “Why are you crying?”

“Because,” pressing herself to her mother with fresh tears. “Because you're sad and you're crying! I don’t want you to be sad, Mama! Please don’t be sad!”

Somehow, the ignorant sweetness in her daughters pleading just made Ava feel even worse. She swept Nozomi up into a tight embrace, pressing her little face to her own. How warm was a human touch, how much had Ava missed such warmth in her centuries of solitude. How much she would miss it. 

“Shhh, it’s okay. Don’t cry, Nozomi.” she ran her hand through her soft brown hair. It may have seemed like a difficult thing to ask the child, considering her own tears at the moment. “I promise I won’t be sad anymore if you stop crying too. Can you do that for me, Sweetheart?” pulling her face away to look into her glittering green eyes. “Will you stop crying?”

Nozomi sniffed and pressed her hand to her cheeks to wipe them dry. But it seemed to matter how many times she tried, new tears continued to form. Ava understood and continued to hold her, giving them as much comfort as she could, for as long as it could last.

Back in the house, Ava carried her daughter back to her room, gently sitting her on her bed before returning to her own room for a moment. When she returned, there was a thick book in her hand, bound in dark blue with etchings of gold. 

“I’ve told you many stories from this book.” 

“Yeah! You called it, your ‘book of prophecies’.” 

Ava smiled and sat beside Nozomi. She held the book out for her child to touch, flipping the pages for her to see.

“There is one story I haven’t told you yet,” she said. “It's a very important story at the end of this book but the story itself has no ending. That’s because it is still happening, being written as you and I speak. Do you understand, Sweetheart?” When the child nodded, she closed the book and placed it on the nightstand. 

“You may have heard some of this story before.” she went on. “It may sound like a fairytale to you, but I’m what I’m about to tell you now is real. It was real, far more than a fairytale. And it is very important that no matter what happens in your life, no matter where destiny takes you, you will never ever forget this story. Can you promise me this?”

“I promise, Mama.”

“Good, and will you promise that when you are big and have a child of your own, that you will tell them this story?”

“I will.” there was a long pause as Ava tried to compose herself and find the words best to describe what she wanted to convey to the child. How to convey the horrors of what had happened in a way that Nozomi could understand. And in a way that her descendants would understand. “Mama, will you tell me the story?”

Ava took in a deep breath and began. 

“Long ago, people lived in peace. Bathed in the warmth of light. Everyone loved the light. Then people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves. And darkness was born in their hearts.”

There was always darkness in people’s hearts, but it was only after the competition for lux increased was when that darkness was brought out. She and the others had tried their best to maintain the balance between their unions. But in the end their attempts only served to feed the greed between the wielders. These were her thoughts, but Ava went on. 

“The darkness spread, swallowing the light in many people’s hearts. It covered everything and the world disappeared. But small fragments of light survived, in the hearts of children.” a small tear managed it’s way down her cheek as she took Nozomi’s hands into her own. “Children just like you.”

~~~ 

_ Four decades later... _

“With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world. It’s the world we live in now.”

“And that’s how Scala ad Caelum was formed.”

Nozomi smiled at her son, growing up, he had heard this story countless times. But with the young man soon to leave home to train to wield a keyblade, she felt that it was time that he hear it one more time. Just as her mother had told her, on their final night together. 

“Yes, and eventually those fragments would build up the other worlds outside of Scala. But the true light sleeps, deep within the darkness. That’s why the worlds are still scattered.”

“Divided from each other.”

“Yes, my son. Divided from each other.”

~~~

_ Four centuries later... _

“But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open. And the true light will return.”

“Grandma…” Takara hesitated. “Does that mean...there may one day be another Keyblade War?”

“I cannot say, child.” the old woman sat back in her chair, the eyes of her granddaughter and her two friends fixed upon her, eager for her to finish her story. “I personally do not believe such. This world has been a haven for keyblade wielders for centuries.”

“There is more to light than meets the eye.” Ilysia grinned. “That’s what Eraqus always says.”

“If that door to the darkness ever opens,” Anila added. “We will all work together to keep the darkness from swallowing the worlds again!” 

Takara’s grandmother smiled. “I have do doubt on that matter.”

~~~

_ Many years later still… _

“It’s getting dark.” Kairi glanced out the window nervously, Kalai gently tried to pull her away when she didn’t come right away, the older girl then lifted her from her feet and took her into her arms. “Could it be another storm?”

“There seems to have been many storms as of late.”

But in her heart she felt as though this was more than another storm. Something red was glowing in the sky in the distance and pools of those frightening dark creatures could be seen in the central square. Lady Takara reached out for them to come away from the window and return to their place beside her at the fireplace. Despite the defined sense of tension in the air, she continued to smile.

“Kairi, dear.” she began. “Do you remember my story? The one you love so much?”

The little girl nodded, something in the calm kindness in her grandmother’s eyes helped to put her heart at ease. Kalai sat beside her with Kairi in her lap. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard this story.” she said. “Ma’am, may I hear it?”

Lady Takara was more than happy to oblige, more than happy to do anything to help calm the fears of the two girls. Truthfully, she was also afraid, but she also believed in the words she spoke to them. She knew that the story was more than a fairytale, that it was still being written, and that one day, it would finally be complete.

“Listen, my dears, even in the deepest darkness, there will always be light to guide you. Believe in the light and the darkness will never defeat you. Your hearts will shine with its power and push the darkness away.”

Smiles came to all their faces, even as the skies became darker. 

~~~

**Author's Note:**

> Nozomi means "hope" in Japanese. This will likely be the one and only time she is ever mentioned by name.


End file.
